But many Jackson fanatics have already gathered in the hope of somehow getting a ticket. Kate Ross, a financial adviser and Jackson fan, said: "If I can't get the chance to get in, I just don't know what I'll do. I lost my job for this."

Touts are thought to have used multiple e-mail addresses to register for the lottery in the hope of re-selling the free tickets for huge sums on the internet. The service could be watched by more than one billion people around the world on television.

Jackson himself once said his own send-off would be "the greatest show on earth" but Ken Ehrlich, the producer of the 90-minute event, said there would be "no bells and whistles".

He said: "It will be a celebration of Michael's life but we're not approaching it as a TV show. We want to keep it low-key.

"People who are watching can expect to see people who have played a role in his life, who will both be reminiscing about him and speaking to the impact he's made."

Los Angeles police confirmed on Sunday that Jackson will be buried at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills.

The assistant chief of police, Jim McDonnell, said it will be a "private family function". The family has declined to say when the burial will be.

Jackson's grandmother is buried at the cemetery as are other entertainment stars including Marvin Gaye, Clark Gable and Bette Davis.

Forest Lawn may be a temporary resting spot. The Jackson family are trying to get legal permission to have the singer re-buried at his Neverland ranch at a later date.

A spot has been assigned at Neverland next to Jackson's private train station.

The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has begun an investigation into the welfare of Jackson's three children, Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II, who were in his rented mansion when he died.

That will include talking to them about their life with Jackson and any exposure to drug use by their father. Investigators found prescription drugs, including the powerful sedative Diprivan, in the house.

A separate investigation by the coroner and the US Drug Enforcement Agency is tracking at least five doctors known to have prescribed drugs to Jackson.

A video also emerged of the singer beinq questioned by a lawyer over child abuse allegations.

The interview was conducted in 1996 by Michael Ring, the chief lawyer for a group of former Neverland workers claiming wrongful dismissal. Jackson later won the civil case.

Jackson appeared lucid and not under the influence of medication in the video. He groaned, buried his head in his hands, and shook his head as he was asked if he had ever been accused of sexually molesting young boys, including Jordan Chandler and the Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin.

Jackson reached an out of court settlement with Jordan Chandler, rumoured to be up to £15 million, in 1993.

At his 2005 trial on charges of molesting Gavin Arvizo, a 13-year-old cancer survivor, Macaulay Culkin appeared as as a star witness for Jackson's defence and said the singer had never behaved improperly towards him. Jackson was cleared of all charges.

In the video Jackson also said he wanted to counter "lies" that had been told about him.

He said: "I'm a black American and proud of it. I don't bleach my skin. I'm not gay."